Winter Despairs
by Skyheart77
Summary: It has been decades since the Guardians defeated Pitch and restored order to the world; but when Pitch returns with a vengeance, stronger than ever, will they still be able to stand against the Lord of Darkness? And what happens when they find that Pitch is no longer alone, but allied with the one threat that could well destroy the world?
1. Prologue

The wind lashed against her, rapid and fierce, the powerful gusts nearly throwing her off her feet. She could barely see what was in front of her, the dust and dirt that had been stirred by the wind making it difficult for her to see even her own hands. She stumbled forward, one foot before the other, again and again, a repetitive action that she had seemingly done for hours already. She coughed, a dry, painful sound.

Hunger. Pain. Anger. Fear.

Fear.

The shouts that echoed up the mountain were getting closer. She staggered forward, then fell, her ankle giving out under her. Desperately, she held her hands to the ground, trying to summon a yeti, a snowman, a wall of ice, _anything_ that could buy her time to get away. But the ground remained warm to the touch, the grass yellow and dying, no hint of the ice-white hues that accompanied her powers.

She sobbed, a cracked, wretched sound.

The footsteps came closer, louder, again and again, the steady beat reminding her of a drum. She turned in the direction of the footsteps, holding her hands out defensively.

There was a sudden smell of burning - and before she knew what was happening, flames lunged at her, snapping at her hands, burning the edges of her fingers. She cried out, throwing herself backwards, her breathing becoming shallow as she trembled. "No."

The fire curled around her, flames surrounding her in a circle, trapping her in. The heat became unbearable, the smoke overwhelming her, making it difficult for her to breathe. She crumpled to the ground, fear plain in her eyes. Again and again, she held her hands out, trying to summon ice, snow, anything that could quench the blaze that inched ever closer towards her, but nothing worked. She cast her gaze about, searching for something, anything that could save her - but what she saw only chilled her heart.

Through the flames, a distant figure with turquoise eyes, the same eyes she saw every morning when she looked into the mirror, gazing at her with a remote, cruel coldness.

The flames shot upwards, thirty feet high, a towering inferno. For a moment, the fire seemed to have a life of its own; it seemed to laugh at her, a cruel, taunting laugh as the flames loomed over her. And then the blaze shot forward like an arrow, an impeccable aim that launched itself straight at her. The girl screamed, terror and rage melding together into one desperate cry, her arms reaching out for the figure on the other side of the flames.

"Anna!"

* * *

The red-haired girl struggled to pin her thrashing sister down on the bed, flinching as Elsa kicked her right in the gut. She doubled over, but maintained her iron-grip on Elsa's arms, yelling to the blonde-haired man who stood at the end of the bed, blinking blearily, confused and clearly frightened by the screaming queen, "Hold onto her legs!"

Kristoff hesitated, wondering if that would be impolite - he may have been courting her sister, but Elsa was still rather distant towards him, the same way she was to everyone except Anna. But Elsa let out another cry, writhing in the bed, her arms twisting and struggling to escape Anna's hold, and Kristoff knew the princess was going to need help to wake Elsa up from her - what was it? A fit? A nightmare? So he threw himself forward, pinning Elsa's kicking legs to the bed with all the force he could muster.

Anna tried to hold onto Elsa's face, yelling to drown out the screams of her sister, "Elsa, Elsa wake up! Wake up, please!" She shook her sister, dodging to avoid the wild lashes that Elsa struck out with her hands.

Gradually, Elsa's thrashing seemed to weaken, her movements slowing, becoming weaker as she registered Anna's panicked cries. As Elsa's screams faded into silence, Kristoff dared to glance up, wondering if Queen Elsa was awake.

Anna looked down at her sister; Elsa was lying on the bed, her eyes gazing upwards, her body trembling uncontrollably. Softly, the Queen spoke. "It's okay, Anna. I'm all right now. You can let me go."

Warily, Anna climbed off Elsa, indicating to Kristoff that he could let go too. Softly, she asked. "Elsa, what's going on? This is the fourth night in a row you've woken up screaming - are you all right?"

Elsa rubbed her hands against her eyes, pretending to wipe the sleep from her eyes, but in reality not sleepy at all. "Like I told you, it's just nightmares. They're getting more and more vivid, but they can't hurt me."

Anna frowned. "I don't like it, Elsa. I don't like it when you wake up screaming like something's killing you in your sleep. Maybe you should visit the trolls, just to make sure you're all right."

Elsa flinched. She drew away from Anna's touch. "I'll be fine. If this problem persists, I'll visit the trolls, but I don't want to make a big fuss out of nothing."

Anna nodded. "If you say so, sis. Come on, Kristoff, let's go. We're going out for a picnic." She told Elsa, who only nodded in response, still staring at her hands.

Kristoff bowed to Elsa before making his way out of the room after Anna.

_You see? Again, she wants you to visit the trolls; every single day she presses you to do that. She just wants the people to find out about your nightmares, to see your problems, to think that you're unstable. She wants them to fear you again, Elsa, like they feared you two years ago. _

_She wants your power, Elsa. Are you just going to let her manipulate you like that? _

Elsa shook her head, her fists clenching and unclenching. The snowflakes tumbled down from the ceiling, covering her in seconds. Now her powers came back - but Elsa remembered her dream vividly, remembered the way her powers seemed to have abandoned her. She bit her lip, curling up into a ball. Just what was happening to her?

She was _scared_.

* * *

"Snow?" Jack frowned, his brows drawing together as he slung himself around his staff. "But that's my area of expertise, I'm Jack Frost! I control winter!"

"Like I said, I don't think she controls winter, so much as she controls snow. I mean, they call her the Snow Queen." Tooth pointed out.

Jack waved that away. "Semantics! Snow's _my_ area of expertise too!" He leapt off his staff, slinging it over his shoulders. "So she lives in Arendelle?"

"Yep, she's the Queen. At least, that's what my fairies tell me." Tooth answered, as the few fairies that surrounded her chittered away.

Bunnymund turned away from the eggs that he was gingerly painting, pointing a red-dashed paintbrush at Baby Tooth. "A human with such powers? That's not normal, is it?"

The three Guardians exchanged looks and shook their head. "Definitely not."

"But what can we do about it?" Tooth mused. "I mean, she's a human, isn't she? Not to mention a Queen, too. We can't just go up to her and demand to know how she got her powers. Besides, she doesn't seem to be using it for evil. In fact, one of my fairies said she just uses it to create ice rinks for kids to play on."

Bunnymund rolled his eyes. "She sounds as much of a kid as you are, Frost." He turned to look at the door. "Which reminds me - why did Santa call us here in the first place? Where is he?"

The yeti that stood at the doorway shot Bunnymund a puzzled look in response, lifting his shoulders in a shrug - he didn't know either.

Just then, the door opened, and North and Sandy walked in together, their expressions serious. Jack tilted his head to the side. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"You should see this." North replied, leading the way to the ginormous globe that occupied its space in North's main hall. Jack's eyes widened in shock; behind him, Tooth and Bunnymund stopped dead in their tracks, stunned as well.

Tendrils of black and ice-blue were creeping across the globe, a slow, twisted fury casting a shadow over the globe.

"This...it can't be! We defeated Pitch, years ago!" Jack protested, whirling around to look at North. The jolly old man spread his arms helplessly, his expression not jolly at all. "Yes, we defeated him. But we did not destroy him. He can always return, Jack, and it seems now he has. I do not know what he is planning, but I am sure we all remember the chaos he brought along the last time he returned."

There was a moment of silence as all the Guardians recalled how close to destruction they had all come - their failures, the children slowly losing faith in them, slowly losing their shape and form...

"We have to stop him." Jack made a fist. "No matter what. We can't let him hurt the children with his nightmares like he did last time."

"But we don't even know what he's planning." Bunnymund pointed out. "How are we supposed to stop him, then?"

"We'll just have to seek him out first." Jack replied, the determination plainly written on his face. He turned to North and Sandy, one the unofficial leader of the Guardians, the other the oldest and most experienced of all the Guardians. "What do you guys think? Is that all right?"

There was a wisp of golden sand, as a golden thumbs-up formed right above Sandy's head, while North nodded in agreement, clapping Jack on the back. "That is, indeed, the only way we can start off. We should also make sure to prepare ourselves, and guard our realms as well as possible - we cannot let our guard down, or Pitch might attempt to invade our realms again."

Bunnymund and Tooth exchanged a look, the two of them having had first-hand experience of that the last time Pitch invaded their realms.

Jack grinned. "All right then! Let's get to work! Each of us will take one area of the globe and search for Pitch there."

North pointed at the globe. "Remember, if we find him, do not engage, but fall back and return here. So, which areas do each of you want?"

Jack leapt lightly to stand on the globe, using his staff to prod a small, oddly-shaped mass on the globe. "I want this place. Arendelle! I want to check out this Snow Queen dude."

"If she's a Queen, she can't be a dude." Tooth pointed out.

Jack wagged a finger at Tooth. "She can be if I say she can. All right, that's decided. I'll take the area around Arendelle, the rest of you do as you please!" With that, Jack vaulted out of the window, the winter wind carrying him as he jetted off into the distance.

North looked at Bunnymund. "Why do I have a feeling he just wanted an excuse to visit Arendelle?"

Bunnymund rolled his eyes; he'd gotten a lot of practice in that ever since Jack joined the Guardians. "I wouldn't be surprised."

* * *

**Hey guys! So here's my new story, a Frozen/Rise of the Guardians crossover which I've been planning for quite a while already. Word of warning: while there may be some slight humour and fluff, this fanfic will be darker in tone, more like Frozen than Rise of the Guardians (is RotG darker than Frozen? That's always the impression I got). **

**So I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! This is more of a setting-up where all the major players in the story are introduced: Elsa, the Guardians, Pitch and to a lesser extent, Anna and Kristoff. More about Pitch's plans will be revealed in the next chapter, but I think most readers should have been able to guess at least part of his plan already. I'll try to upload the next chapter ASAP, which hopefully should mean in the next week or so, so please anticipate it! And remember guys, review and follow!**


	2. Chapter One

Jack hopped lightly from one mountain crest to the next, his every step spanning miles as the North wind hurried him on gently, speeding up his progress. Below him, the ground was smothered in white and ice-blues, the hues distinctive of winter.

As he landed lightly on the tip of yet another snow-capped mountain he paused for a moment, glancing down below. For miles and miles, he'd seen nothing but snow and more snow and occasionally a little bit of ice. Now, Jack wasn't the best guy to ask when it came to geography, but wasn't it supposed to be summer around these areas now? So why was it snowing, well, everywhere?

That was a rhetorical question. Jack could make an educated guess as to the reason behind all these snow-capped peaks - the Snow Queen. It seemed that the closer he got to the kingdom of Arendelle, the more snow and ice there was, and the greater the winter storms that fought against the North Wind, trying to throw him out of the air.

Just then, his eyes fell upon what looked like a tower of ice; the tower was intricately made, a structure of gorgeous sharp edges and delicate curves. The sun cast a strong glow on it, turning the tower a beautiful hue of red and orange, shades that reflected off the tower walls and onto the soft snow-ice around it. He whistled; whoever this Snow Queen was, she was strong. Definitely not as strong as Jack himself was, of course, but strong nonetheless.

He vaulted into the air, arms flailing for a moment before he landed at the foot of the tower. He looked up, admiring the tower for a moment. With his arm outstretched, he reached with his staff, tapping the ends of the staircase lightly. In an instant, ice swirled upwards, curving itself into two snowflake-shaped structures. Jack chuckled, well-pleased with his handiwork. Slowly, taking his time, he strolled up the well-sculpted ice staircase, admiring the Snow Queen's work as he juggled his staff from hand to hand.

It was a well-made structure, all right - precise and stunning, like something North himself would produce. And yet, it was empty. Jack wondered why the Snow Queen would go to such lengths to build such a fantastic palace and yet leave it unoccupied - was she really that free?

But Jack had spoken too soon - just as that thought passed through his mind, he heard the faint echo of footsteps against the staircase leading to the entrance of the palace. He cast his eyes about for a moment, panicked, then leapt upwards, clinging to the ceiling like a spider clings to walls, balancing precariously as he waited.

As the blonde-haired girl stepped through the grand doors sculpted of ice, she wondered out loud, "Strange - I was sure I closed this the last time I came..."

Jack flinched, realizing his mistake. But he remained stock-still, trying not to draw any further attention to himself. Was this girl...?

Hanging off from the ceiling as he was, he couldn't exactly get a good view of the girl's face; the most he could see from his position was her platinum-blonde hair and the shimmering dress that seemed to alternate between various shades of blue as she moved. Nevertheless, he had a feeling, a feeling that it was her. This was the girl he was seeking. The Snow Queen.

Jack bit back a snort - she didn't look like much! As he watched, the girl closed the doors, then began to pace, rubbing her hands up and down against her shoulders as if she was cold. The girl's head was lowered, and if not for the silence that permeated the room, Jack could have sworn she was crying.

The Guardian was tempted to leap down and offer her a shoulder to cry on - he was a Guardian, after all, and he was supposed to protect. But given the age of this girl - what was she, seventeen, eighteen? Far too old to believe in the Guardians anymore. It was more than likely she wouldn't even be able to see him.

The girl stopped abruptly, her fists tightening visibly against her arms. She inhaled deeply, then spoke out loud, "Leave me alone."

Jack blinked. For a moment, he thought he'd been caught. He prepared to vault down and apologize with his usual cheeky, insincere grin, but before he could, the girl spoke again, "I'm not scared of you, you know. I know better than to succumb to fear. I won't give in to you, not like I did last time."

Jack waited, eyes darting about the room, which, at least to his eyes, was empty except for the two of them. Who was the girl talking to? Was she mad? He craned his head, peering closely at her face - she was a pretty one, with charming turquoise eyes and an open, sweet face, and she seemed normal enough.

"Just leave me alone!" The girl suddenly whirled around, slashing her hand through the air; an arc of destruction weaved into existence, cracking the glass structure. Jack winced - clearly, the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" was highly justified.

Jack had seen enough. He'd come seeking for a fellow compatriot, someone fun with the same powers as he had, who could hopefully see him and provide him with some entertainment, and this girl couldn't be more different from him. For one thing, he wasn't bonkers. With a sigh, he leapt off the wall, landing lightly on his feet next to the door, the only sound he made a slight squeak of his shoes against the glass floor.

He reached for the door, hoping that the material of the door would allow him to inch it open without making a sound, but before he could even touch the door a voice spoke sharply, "Who are you?"

Jack whirled around, startled and blinking. The girl was staring right at him, eyes narrowed, hands raised up and, in Jack's mind, ready to blast him to kingdom come. He backed away slowly, but for every step he took, the girl compensated.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The girl demanded, the anger in her voice plain.

Jack blinked rapidly, still bewildered. He held up one hand, pointing at himself. "You...you can see me? Really?"

The girl frowned, clearly confused by his statement, but the anger in her eyes did not recede. "What kind of question is that? Of course I can see you! Tell me who you are, now!" Without hesitation, she thrust her palm out, and a flurry of ice and snow shot towards Jack, quick as a bullet.

Jack yelped; he swung his staff instinctively, and the attack dissipated. The girl paused, clearly taken aback. "How did you..."

"Guess you're not the only one with wicked powers." Jack grinned his usual playful grin, but before he could come up with any more quips, the door cracked open behind him. "Elsa? Who are you talking to?"

The girl's eyes widened in shock, and Jack thought he saw a strange mixture of fear and guilt in her eyes. He turned around, but the brunette who had opened the door seemed completely unaware of his presence - she stared right through him, and the blonde-haired girl, 'Elsa'.

Well, that had been unsettling once, but after years of getting ignored Jack was no longer surprised when he ran into those who didn't believe. With a practiced ease, he ducked around the girl's body and swerved through the tower's doors, disappearing into the distance.

Elsa stepped forward. "Stop!"

Anna shot her sister a bewildered look, but pulled up short. "Elsa? What's wrong?"

"No, not you! That guy!" Elsa pointed behind Anna. "That weird guy with the white hair!"

"Weird..." Anna turned around, but saw nothing in the distance but ice and snow, the same ice and snow that her sister had conjured up two years ago. "Elsa what are you talking about? There's no one there."

Elsa stopped short, clearly confused. She strode past Anna, looking out through the doors, but whoever the boy was, he was long gone.

If he'd even been there in the first place. Was she hallucinating now, on top of all the nightmares? Elsa closed her eyes, biting her lip in frustration - what was happening to her?

"Elsa, are you sure you're all right?" Anna approached, concerned, laying a hand on her sister's shoulders. "What weird guy were you talking about?"

"It's...nothing." Elsa straightened up, composing her expression into one of feigned nonchalance. "Just a mistake."

Anna's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "A mistake? Elsa, I'm really getting worried now. You're not just having nightmares anymore, you're starting to even have delusions in broad daylight?"

_You see? There she goes again. Doubting you. Doubting your ability to be queen. Making you doubt yourself._

Elsa's teeth gritted. "I'm fine, Anna. There's nothing to be worried about."

"I still think you should see the village doctor. At least ask him if there's anything to be worried about. This has gone on for long enough, Elsa, I'm just doing this for your own good." Anna stubbornly maintained.

_She wants you to reveal your weaknesses to the townsfolk. She wants them to doubt you, too. She wants them to mistrust you, just like she has never trusted you. Traitor!_

Elsa flinched. "Stop it. Just stop."

Anna paused, conflict showing on her face. She held both hands up, palms out, in a soothing gesture. "Okay, okay, Elsa. Whatever you want. Just...if it gets worse, please see the doctor, okay?"

Elsa gave a brute nod.

"Then...I guess...I'll just go back...and let you stay here. Come back soon, though; the cooks say they're preparing something delicious for dinner." Anna replied cautiously, backing out of the doors.

_Ingratiating herself with your servants, your people, making them prefer her to you. Plotting her treason, Elsa. Treason against you. _

As the doors closed behind Anna, Elsa dropped to the ground, curled up into a ball, her hands over her head as she shook uncontrollably.

"Stop it...just leave me alone..."

* * *

"So there was nothing there of interest, I take it?" North looked up from his train sculpted from ice, his jolly eyes twinkling as usual.

Jack had been gazing silently out of the window, but turned back to the older Guardian, startled by his words. "What? How do you know, you weren't there."

"If it had been fun, or even interesting, you'd probably have spent several days there. As it is, you spent only several hours." North replied with a wave. "On the bright side, I suppose that also means there was no sign of Pitch."

"Uh no. No sign of Pitch. Yeah, you're right. Arendelle wasn't very interesting at all." Jack replied morosely, returning his gaze to the window.

North looked up again, concern suddenly sparking in his eyes. "Are you all right, Jack? You don't sound yourself."

"Nah, just thinking." Jack answered without looking at North. The old man was right - he'd fled from Arendelle. Usually he spent days at a new place, exploring, checking out sights, visiting believers and bringing them fun and joy. But this time, after the encounter with the Snow Queen he'd taken straight to the wind and returned to North's realm. He wondered why he'd been so eager to run from the place. It was the Snow Queen, he supposed. In one way or another, she'd unsettled him.

"Thinking isn't your strong suit, Frost. Don't bother with it." Bunnymund snarked as he popped up from one of his bunny holes, appearing right next to North. Ignoring Jack's sound of protest, the Easter Bunny turned to North. "No sign of Pitch in either of the Americas, North. Are you sure your globe wasn't just malfunctioning?"

North's brows furrowed, and he cast a glance through his door, where his globe sat in his great hall. "No, I don't believe that would happen. Let us wait for Tooth and Sandy to return first - perhaps they found something."

"Not me, if that's what you're asking." A familiar voice replied from the door; Tooth fluttered in, with Sandy hovering next to her. "Neither of us found any trace of Pitch in Asia or Africa. He's not back."

North's frown grew. "That is impossible! The globe is never wrong; Pitch must be in hiding."

"Yeah but what's he planning? Even if he is back - which we're not entirely certain about - we don't know what his next move is. How are we supposed to stop him?" Bunnymund demanded. "Are we just supposed to wait for him to come for us?"

"Well..." North pondered for a moment, scratching his beard. Then he smiled, his eyes becoming jolly again. "There isn't really any other option, is there? If we can't find him, we'll just have to wait for him to find us. Besides, we have Jack and Sandy; their powers are more than enough to fend off Pitch's nightmares."

"Saying we have Sandy is reassuring enough, saying we have Jack and Sandy? Not so much." Bunnymund grumbled.

"Jack, are you all right? You've been awfully quiet." Tooth wondered, fluttering to where Jack sat, maintaining his silence as he looked out of the window.

With a visible effort, Jack turned back to the others with a smile. "Sure, I'm fine. Yeah, I think North's right. We should just be prepared and wait for Pitch to come. It's not like he can beat us, anyway."

Bunnymund grunted, clearly not happy with the plan, but it wasn't as if he could come up with anything better. "If that's it, then I'm going back to my realm. I've still got to prepare for Easter!"

"Easter isn't for a few more months." Jack remarked. "Besides, how long does painting eggs take?"

"Why you little whelp, Frost! Easter is a beautiful season to be respected, of course I've got to spend time preparing for it!" Bunnymund snapped, wagging his paw at the nonchalant youngster.

Jack turned his head back to face the window, this time shifting his position so his staff was leaning against the window, and his head against the staff. Tooth hovered by his shoulder, enquiring, "Will you be staying here, Jack, or would you like to visit my realm? Baby Tooth misses you, you know; she's been complaining that she hasn't seen you for days!"

There was a moment of silence before Jack shrugged. "Nah, I think I'll stay. I prefer the climate here. Tell Baby Tooth I'll visit her soon though, I promise."

Tooth nodded, but the worry in her eyes did not fade. Bunnymund tapped Tooth's shoulder with his paw, nearly knocking her to the ground. "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

A hole opened up in the ground next to Bunnymund, and with a step, both Guardians plunged straight into the dark hole, which closed up behind them.

Sandy's eyes met North's; the elder Guardian pointed at Jack, then at his own head, a golden question mark forming above his spiky hair.

North shrugged, clearly as clueless as the other Guardians were. Sandy folded his arms, seemed to sigh, then vanished, leaving behind only the faintest glitter of gold.

Jack knew, or at least he had an idea of all the silent conversations going on behind his back - at any time, he would have leapt up, playfully accusing them of bad-mouthing him behind his back like how Bunnymund always did. Today, however, he merely bit back a sigh, his head sinking deeper into his arms.

The Snow Queen. Elsa. Just who was she? How could she have such powers? And the way she spoke to herself that way...Jack felt deeply unsettled, more than he'd ever been in his life - except maybe when he finally discovered the truth behind how he became a Guardian.

"Jack!" North bellowed, shocking Jack out of his reverie; the youngster practically leapt into the air, yelping and clutching at his staff. The jolly older man laughed, pointing at his train. "If you're not too busy moping about god knows what, maybe you could come over and help me embellish this train."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You treat me like one of your yetis." But he got to his feet, vaulting over to the train. With a simple flick of his wrist, he added grooves and carvings to the train, transforming what was a plain structure of ice into a train of ice with windows, a chimney, people peering out of the windows and even a little dog running next to the train. Jack smiled, pleased with his handiwork, and North smiled too, glad at the return of joy to Jack's face.

* * *

"So how was she?" Kristoff enquired as the door opened, and he recognized Anna's usual heavy steps. As the ginger-headed girl tossed herself onto the bed next to him, Kristoff's brows drew together. "Ah. What happened?"

"She's even starting to hallucinate now!" Anna exclaimed. She quickly recounted the events that had taken place in what was quickly becoming her sister's favourite place, finishing off with, "I mean, it was just so awkward. She practically mentally chased me out of the tower. It felt like we were six years old again and she was constantly shutting me out. Like, I thought we already moved past that, you know?"

Kristoff ignored the majority of Anna's rambling, like he tended to do, and focused on the important parts. "Are you sure that she hallucinated? Or did you just misunderstand what she said?"

"No, I'm serious. She started talking about some white-haired guy but I swear there was no one at all for miles around us. I mean, a white-haired guy? Seriously? Why would she even be hallucinating about an old man?" Anna was frustrated, but Kristoff frowned. "Um, I think we should be focusing on the "why would she even be hallucinating", rather than the old man thing. Did you suggest that she-"

"Visit a doctor?" Anna interrupted. "Yes, I did as you said. And she totally looked like she was going to blast me out of the tower. I was just being concerned, but she acted as if I was plotting a rebellion against her!" Anna folded her arms, grumpy. "Seriously, though, I really thought we'd gotten past all this two years ago."

Kristoff leaned over, wrapping an arm around his fiancee in a comforting gesture. "Relax, Anna. I'm sure Elsa's just stressed; she is a queen, after all, and she's sure to have all sorts of worries on her mind. Just give her some time to sort out all her stately problems and I'm sure she'll be back to normal."

Anna bit back a sigh, nestling back in Kristoff's arms. "I just hope you're right."

* * *

**And here's the next chapter! It's a pretty straightforward chapter without much action and all, as I was trying to focus more on the characterizations and relationships. I hope I got them correct.**

**With the Guardians, most of them aren't really revealed in detail since there are so many of them - there's Jack, of course, who's fun and relaxed but he also knows how to be serious and when to be serious. Bunnymund has a casual rivalry with Jack, where they're forever making quips and insulting each other. The other three Guardians are more concerned and friendly towards Jack, but whereas North has more of an older brother/dad feel, Tooth is more like an older sister while Sandy is more like the friend who knows when to back off.**

**With the Frozen cast, though, it's simpler. After the events of Frozen, Anna and Elsa actually grew a lot closer, which is why Anna is so upset by Elsa "closing the doors" on her again. Likewise, Kristoff and Anna have developed their relationship into a more steady thing, whereby they're engaged and often rely on each other for strength and advice (i.e Kristoff telling Anna to advice Elsa to see a doctor). Kristoff also cares for Elsa, but it's a more distant thing, and mostly because Elsa is Anna's sister (My idea of Kristoff and Elsa is that they're not very fond of each other, because Elsa is just too cold and remote for Kristoff, while Elsa would see Kristoff as being a little uncouth and unworthy of Anna, although that would probably be the way she views any suitor of Anna).**

**Finally, Jack and Elsa. I've always felt that they probably wouldn't click on first meeting - Elsa is way too serious and remote to be able to appreciate, instantly, Jack's sense of fun and humour. Their relationship is probably going to be a more gradual thing, where they slowly come to understand and appreciate one another. (PS does anyone else love that Anna isn't a believer and can't see Jack either? I think it's cute, I can just imagine Elsa fangirling over her crush on Jack and Anna going "he's a fairytale character." And then Kristoff and Sven are probably believers too and they can all see Jack and Anna will be so frustrated and confused XD)**

**The mystery behind what's happening to Elsa hasn't exactly been unravelled, but it should be pretty obvious to most what's going on by now. One thing to note: it's getting progressively worse, and of course the entire situation is going to implode, in the next few chapters.**

**So please anticipate the next chapter, and remember, review! I eat reviews for breakfast, lunch and dinner :)**


	3. Chapter Two

"I take it from your expression that there's been no sign of Pitch anywhere?"

North jumped, startled, his ice pick knocking hard against the ice sculpture of a fairy that he'd been hard at work on for the past few days. Dismayed, he looked down at the sculpture, making out the minutiae cracks that he must have accidentally knocked into his sculpture only a moment ago when his hand slipped.

Bunnymund leapt out of his hole, landing neatly next to North. He tapped his foot – well, more of a paw, really, twice, making the hole close up in an instant, before turning to peer at the sculpture. With an oversized paw he reached out to tap the sculpture, and with a little _crack_ the sculpture shattered into a dozen tiny pieces, the translucent slivers of broken ice scattered forlornly over North's worktable.

North's face drew even longer, and he turned to shoot daggers from his eyes at Bunnymund. "I have been working on that for a week!"

Bunnymund looked apologetic, but his tone was far from it. "And I don't know why you bother, really, You could always just get Frost to do it with you – he may be a first-class asshole, but he sure knows his way around ice. A sculpture like that he could probably complete with a click of his fingers."

"It's not about the end-product, it's about the process!" North admonished, pulling another thick block of ice towards him. With a swoosh of his ice pick, he cracked the ice into two, then began work on the smaller of the two pieces. "Besides, reluctant as I usually am to ask Jack for help with ice work, I've been even more reluctant to ask him these past two weeks."

Bunnymund's brows rose. "Why, have you finally realized how annoying he is, so you don't want to be indebted to him anymore than you already have? Wise choice, North!"

North frowned, rolling his eyes at the constant immature feuding between Bunnymund and Jack. "No, that's not it. Ever since he returned from Arendelle, his behavior has been…not erratic, exactly, but he's been different."

The seriousness of North's tone alerted Bunnymund to the fact that this seemed to be no joking matter. "Different? How?"

"Well, on the surface he seems to be no different – he still goes around bullying my yetis, breaking my sculptures whenever he can and scaring my elves out of their minds, but if you paid attention to him, as I have these past two weeks, you'll realize that something's changed with him. It's almost as if he no longer derives any pleasure from doing all those things, and he's just doing them for the sake of doing them." North replied, his brows so close together they nearly formed a straight line. "I worry about him, you know."

Bunnymund scratched his chin with one paw, his expression contemplative; all of a sudden, his eyes widened, wariness, even alarm clear in them. "Say…it couldn't be that…Frost couldn't possibly be working with Pitch, could he? I mean, you say he started acting differently ever since he came back from Arendelle – what if he actually found Pitch there, and they're now in cahoots? It sure would explain why there's been no sign of Pitch anywhere else-"

"Bunnymund! Do not continue that thought, Jack is a Guardian, he is one of us! He was chosen by the Man in the Moon himself, he would not betray us like that." North spoke sternly, towering over Bunnymund.

The rabbit was not cowed; instead, he merely responded darkly, "Being chosen by the Man in the Moon doesn't mean he wouldn't betray us, North. You know that just as well as I do – the Guardians are not infallible when it comes to the deceptive wickedness of Pitch's powers. And quite honestly, I really don't trust that little wretch – he pulled all my whiskers off just last month!"

Suddenly, blue shimmered into existence next to Bunnymund's head; in a flicker, the blue hardened into a block of ice and rammed itself into Bunnymund's head. The rabbit yelped, falling backwards, his arms windmilling in a panic.

Jack whirled into the room, the wind carrying him as he hovered overhead, laughing. "Badmouthing me behind my back again, Bunny? And you too, North? I know this is a hobby of Bunny's, but I expected a little more from you, North. That's not very nice!"

Bunnymund nearly howled in anger, pawing furiously at Jack, but the youth was too fast for him. In an instant, the wind carried Jack away, letting him fall comfortably onto the couch that North had intentionally made for him, ordering his yetis to bring the couch into North's workroom so that Jack could have a place to rest whenever he was tired of playing, not that he often was.

"This is serious, Jack. We are discussing the situation with Pitch. We are all worried that there has still been no sign of him at all." North frowned, biting back a sigh.

"What's there to be worried about? Isn't it obvious? Pitch isn't back. It was a mistake." Jack stretched lazily, almost like a cat.

"Mistake? Man in the Moon is very rarely wrong, Jack. He chose you, did he not? Man in the Moon is our leader, he does not "make a mistake" just like that. And he did, he would have let us know already." North turned back to face Jack; slowly, the youth's casual expression sobered, becoming more serious. Jack may be playful and disrespectful to every single other Guardian – except maybe Sandy, but he respected Man in the Moon just as much as they all did. "Well, even if Man in the Moon was right and Pitch really is back, what can we even do? Pitch has clearly gone into hiding – we don't know what he's planning, what he's going to do. So there's nothing we can do either. Besides, we can take him – we took him last time, didn't we?"

North's eyes met Bunnymund's, and both their expressions darkened in an instant. "It is not that simple, Jack. Yes, we managed to defeat him last time, but that was because we took him by surprise – we had you, Jack. You were our secret weapon, the one he did not even think that he would have to face. That's how we managed to beat him. But now he knows you, he knows just how powerful you are, he knows how to face you. Pitch learns from his mistakes, Jack. And he will not underestimate you again. You don't understand just how terrible, just how ruthless Pitch can be. He is the fear that creeps across your shoulders when you least expect it, he is the voice whispering lies in your ear, he is the doubt that turns you against everyone you trust. Pitch is darkness, he is poison, he is fear itself, Jack. Do not underestimate him like he did you before."

As North spoke, Jack's expression slowly changed; Bunnymund, watching the youth, was taken aback for a moment – he had never seen such fear, such horror in the boy's eyes before. Before Bunnymund could think of anything to say, Jack leapt up, his voice barely more than a whisper. "The voice whispering lies in your ear. The doubt that turns you against everyone you trust. _Doubt, turning you against everyone you trust_. God, why didn't I realize it?"

"Jack, what is wrong?" North reached forward for the boy, but before he could even take a step forward, Jack pointed his staff at the window next to his couch. Ice shot out from his staff, a stalactite of enormous proportions that crashed right into the window, shattering it. Without waiting, Jack leapt through the window, his voice a raw yell that was carried away by the wind, such that North could barely hear it. "To Arendelle!"

North and Bunnymund looked at each other. They may not have understood the revelation that Jack had just had, but both could recognize trouble when they saw it. Both turned and ran for North's sled, the taller Guardian spitting out rapid-fire orders as he ran. "Bunnymund! Go, alert the others! Your method of travelling is faster than mine, tell them to meet at Arendelle!"

Bunnymund did not even waste any breath answering; he responded with two taps of his feet, and a hole opened up below him, allowing him to plummet down into Sandy's realm.

* * *

Anna awoke to wind howling in her ears, blistering cold making it hurt to open her eyes, and a combination of snow and ice freezing her butt off. She blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the miniature snow-storm that had invaded her room, making out the vague shape of Kristoff reaching for her window; before the princess could say a word, Kristoff lunged forward and slammed the windows shut.

The sound of the screaming wind immediately became muffled, as if she was hearing it through water. Anna blinked again, rubbing her eyes with her fists, trying to melt the ice that had frozen around her eyelashes. "What in the world? What's going on?"

Kristoff leaned against the window, holding it close with his entire body's weight, panting hard. "I have no idea. I woke up and it was like this."

"Well, it's obviously Elsa, she's the only one who can turn summer into a freaking snow-storm here in Arendelle. I thought I told her to stop with the freaky weather already. Where is she?" Anna demanded.

Kristoff lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I asked the guards, they said she left in the middle of the night and hasn't returned. Well, actually they said she took off running straight out of the castle, and didn't even seem to see them when they asked her what was wrong."

Anna frowned, just as confused as Kristoff looked. Elsa's behavior had become more and more erratic over the past few days, but she never took off in the middle of the night before. Biting back a sigh, Anna got to her feet. "I've had enough of this. I'm getting the court physician to take a look at her now."

The princess reached for her clothes, but before she could, Kristoff suddenly yelped, a particularly powerful gust of wind throwing him off his feet and flinging the windows open again. The gusts of wind slammed into Anna, crashing her into the ground, face-flat. Anna covered her head with her arms, yelling into the ground. At this rate she was _never_ getting anywhere!

* * *

Jack landed neatly on his feet at the foot of the stairs of ice; this time, he didn't even pause to admire the sculpture; as he flew overhead he had seen enough to make him even more alarmed than he already was. The ice was turning several shades darker, becoming almost black in certain corners. Without a break he ran up the stairs, taking the steps three at a time, and charged into the tower of ice.

Elsa whirled around at the noise, then stopped short, eyes wide in surprise. Jack stopped too – clearly she had not been expecting to see him.

Elsa pointed a trembling finger at him. "Who are you?"

Jack held up his hands, palms out, in a soothing gesture. "Hey, relax, just relax. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm a friend. My name's Jack Frost."

Elsa froze abruptly, her expression becoming disbelieving in an instant. "Jack Frost? You mean, like the fairy tale? No way. That's ridiculous. Jack Frost is just some made-up character to fool little kids. You can't be Jack Frost."

Jack chuckled, the humour returning to his face. "Oh, you have no idea how often I here that. And as a matter of fact, yes, I do exist. Jack Frost is real, and so are the other Guardians, the Sandman, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, even the Easter Bunny, although the rabbit is such a pain in the ass no one would miss him if he wasn't actually around. We're real."

Unexpectedly, Elsa's eyes filled with rage. Without pausing, she lifted her hand, and a claw of ice shot out, aiming right for Jack's heart; Jack leapt backwards, the wind carrying him back further than he could normally jump. With a swing of his staff, he shattered the ice, turning it into snowflakes.

That made Elsa stop for a moment. "How do you do that? Are you cursed, like me?"

Jack flipped his staff in the air, pointing it upwards; in an instant, snow began to fall, beautiful white snow that slowly dotted the palace of slowly-darkening ice. "Like I said, I'm Jack Frost. Guardian of fun. And my area of expertise happens to be winter. So, snow," he lifted his hands, and the snow at their feet began to rise in a flurry, forming a little snowman at Elsa's feet, "and ice." With a click of his fingers the ice chandelier that hung at their heads suddenly broke, plummeting downwards, but before it could hit them it stopped, then began to transform, forming a statue, an exact replica of Elsa herself.

Elsa's eyes widened, the wonder clear in them. "Wow. Your control is much better than mine." She marveled, clearly amazed.

Jack laughed; with a wave of his hand, the statue melted and shot upwards, reforming into the chandelier. "Practice. I've had about, what, nearly five hundreds years to practice?"

"Wow." Elsa repeated. "So… you really are Jack Frost, then?"

"Sure I am." Jack smiled, clearly glad that they had developed at least some sort of friendly rapport. "And you're Elsa. Queen Elsa."

Elsa's smile faded rapidly. "How did you know that?"

"I heard that other girl call you that, the last time I was here, remember?" Jack reminded her.

"Oh." Elsa turned away, the wonder and joy already fading from her face. Jack tilted his head to the side. Slowly, he stepped forward. "Elsa…actually, I've come to talk to you about something, something important."

"What's so important?" Elsa asked bitterly. "My rapidly-spiralling-out-of-control powers?"

"Not exactly. I've come to ask if you've seen a man who – well, he's kind of like me, in that most people can't see him either, but he's not really like me either, because he's kinda tall with gelled-up spiky black hair and he's really dark and creepy." Jack summed up.

Elsa jerked as if she'd been shocked, whirling around. That was response enough for Jack, whose face fell. "You've seen him. You've seen Pitch."

"Pitch? Is that his name?" Elsa asked, and Jack didn't like the way she asked it. Elsa sounded hopeful, almost glad to finally learn Pitch's name.

"Listen to me, Elsa. Pitch, he's no good. You've got to beware of him-"

Before Jack could finish, he heard the sound of echoing footsteps behind him, and recognized rapid-fire emotions of anger and fear flash across Elsa's face. He whirled around, expecting to see Pitch , but was startled to recognize the brunette he had seen here before, along with an elderly man with graying hair.

"Anna." Elsa fought to keep her voice steady. "What are you doing here?"

Anna stepped forward warily. "I'm worried about you, Elsa. The weather outside, the running out of the castle in the middle of the night – there's something wrong with you. I told the court physician already," she indicated the old man next to her. "Let him take a look at you, all right?"

In an instant, fear surged up in Jack – but it was not his fear. It was just _fear_. He spun around, reaching for Elsa, but he was already too late, and he watched, as the rage and terror engulfed Elsa whole, the blue flickering furiously at Elsa's fingertips.

Elsa's voice was a bellow, a howl of raw fury, but Jack could hear the other voice, the voice layered under Elsa's voice, the voice he recognized instantly, a slimy, sneering snarl. "_YOU TOLD HIM. YOU BETRAYED ME."_

Jack's reaction was instinctive; he flung his staff out with both hands, and blue spiraled out before him, forming a protective barrier in front of Anna and the court physician, and not a moment too soon. The stalactites of ice smashed into the barrier, again and again, a flurry of blows that threatened to plow right through the barrier, but Jack gritted his teeth, holding firm against Elsa's rage.

Elsa's face twisted into an ugly scowl. "And I thought you were my friend!" With a scream of anger, Elsa flung her hand out; the stalactites stopped in an instant, but before Jack could take a breath, a huge snowman rose from the snow Jack had earlier conjured, a whirling fury that quickly gained consciousness, it's inhuman eyes staring coldly at the Guardian.

Anna whimpered. Not again!

Jack inhaled deeply, his voice a shout. "Elsa, you have to fight the fear, you have to fight Pitch! You can't believe him, he's not-" Jack broke off abruptly as a shadow started to form next to Elsa – first a patch of dark, then a shadow forming arms and legs, slowly solidifying into the familiar shape of Pitch.

Pitch tilted his head to one side. "Well, if it isn't little, wittle Jack Frost. Can't beat a snowman, Jack?"

Jack's face twisted in anger, hatred welling up in him as he remembered everything Pitch had done before – tricking him, nearly destroying the Guardians, making Sandy disappear. But before he could attack, Pitch turned to Elsa, paying Jack no mind. "What did I tell you, dear? You can't trust anyone else. They'll always betray you. Except, of course, me. Because I know what it feels like to be betrayed – and I of all people will never betray you."

Elsa's eyes were filled with fiery anger, and at Pitch's words she turned to face him. "You were right. She betrayed me."

"Elsa!" Anna's voice was a pleading cry. "Please, stop! Who are you even talking to?"

"There's nothing left for you here, dear. We should go." Pitch held his hand out to Elsa, waiting.

Jack's eyes widened. "No. No!" Power surged in him; he lunged forward, and with a wave of his staff he slashed right through the snowman, plowing past him, eyes focused only on Elsa's small hand that was slowly lifting up-

"Elsa, you can't!" Jack yelled; he slammed his staff forward, calling on something, anything to make Pitch disappear; blue light jetted out at the figure of shadows, but even then he was moments too late.

Pitch's hand tightened around Elsa's and with a fleeting smirk, they vanished.

Jack stopped short, eyes wide, breathing hard. No. No.

Behind him, he could hear Anna falling to her knees, panicked and confused – she could not see either Jack nor Pitch, so all she had witnessed was the furious battle of ice, and then her sister vanishing into nothingness. But Jack couldn't bring himself to worry about Anna; instead, he stood rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on the point where Elsa had stood only moments before.

She was gone.

* * *

**And I'm back! So this is the chapter where the shit really hits the fan, so to speak. Elsa finally blows her top and leaves with Pitch, while Jack fails to save her from Pitch.**

**A pretty straightforward chapter all in all, but I placed hints of a few twists I have planned out throughout the chapter – I wonder if any of you spotted them? Hint – Sandy and the Man in the Moon (although if any of you can guess the twist so early on in the story I really will be impressed. I confess, I'm really excited for this twist – it's pretty epic).**

**Beyond that, I think the greatest points in the chapter was mainly in the interaction between Jack and Elsa - they have areas in common when it comes to their powers, and they were really starting to form a bond because of that, until Anna entered and disaster struck. And there's also Jack's failure to save Elsa from the threat of Pitch - I've always felt that as casual as Jack seems to be, he would be a guy who takes his responsibility as Guardian very seriously. It's the same as when he was a normal kid saving his little sister - Jack has always seem to feel this need to protect, and now that need has been transferred to Elsa and yet he still failed her. That's going to be a pretty important theme in the rest of the chapters too.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review and follow if you liked it. The next chapter will probably arrive around the end of June – I've still got to complete my update for Monochrome, so please anticipate the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter Three

Anna slumped to the ground, eyes wide and stunned by what she had just witnessed - what had it been, really? Elsa had lost control of her powers again, that was certain - no, she hadn't lost control of her powers, she'd lost control of her temper. Because Elsa's powers were extremely controlled - they'd been directed right at Anna, to hurt her. Anna could scarcely believe it; even the last time, when Elsa had shot ice into her heart, it had been an unintentional mistake, but this? This was hateful and vicious, almost as if Elsa wanted her to die.

And she probably would have, given her conspicuous lack of powers next to her much more talented sister, but then something had spiralled into existence, blocking Elsa's attack and saving Anna's life. Anna had no idea where it'd come from, and honestly she hadn't much time to consider either, because before she even understood what was happening, Elsa had taken - or seemed to have taken - some invisible person's hand, and then vanished right in front of her eyes.

Next to her, the court physician was gaping at the spot Elsa had stood upon only moments ago, just as shocked as Anna was.

There was a sudden rapid thudding of footsteps as someone charged up the stairs; Anna didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Kristoff charged through the doors, eyes darting left and right until he spotted Anna; he made his way forward five steps, then froze, eyes wide and startled as he gazed at a corner to the left of Anna. "What the...who the hell are you?"

There was a moment of silence; Anna, not looking up, assumed that Kristoff was referring to the court physician, but the physician did not answer, and a few seconds later Kristoff was gaping into thin air. "What in the...No way. You can't be...you're actually real?"

Anna was so surprised by the stark amazement in Kristoff's voice that she looked up, only to see Kristoff staring at nothing. "What are you doing, Kristoff? Who're you talking to?"

Kristoff whirled around. "It's him, it's Jack Frost! He's standing right-" Kristoff broke off abruptly, and seemed to be listening to someone speak. "Oh. You can't see him."

Anna frowned, confused and a little frustrated. "What are you talking about, Kristoff? Are you hallucinating like Elsa? There is no Jack Frost, he's a damned fairytale!"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow, his tone stubborn. "I know what I see, and I'm starting to think Elsa did too. Jack Frost is standing right there. He says your sister was taken by an enemy of the Guardians, that she's in danger and he's going to summon the other Guardians to help rescue her."

"What...the Guardians? You mean like the other fairytale characters, Santa Claus and all that?" Anna was getting tired of this charade. "Kristoff please stop playing games, I just saw my sister disappear and-"

Anna broke off abruptly as a small snowball slowly formed in front of her out of thin air; she stared at it, blinking, then yelped as it smacked forward, right into her nose.

Kristoff bit back a choking laugh. "That was from him; he says you're being a stubborn idiot, but you're not the first he's seen." He turned back to face "Jack Frost". "I understand. Do what you have to do, but please bring Anna's sister back."

Anna was still confused, but that snowball was starting to make her doubt herself, make her wonder if Kristoff was telling the truth about Jack Frost. "I don't believe...that snowball...Oh forget it. Is he still there?"

Kristoff shook his head. "He just took off; I think he's really trying to save Elsa. Come on, let's get you back to the castle before you freeze to death."

* * *

Jack Frost leapt into the air, allowing the North Wind to lift him up as if he were light as a feather, carrying him into the distance at a speed faster than any hawk could fly, but even so, he knew it wasn't fast enough. He lifted his staff into the air, closing his eyes as he focused his powers.

The staff began to glow bright blue, stark against the white of the snow-capped mountains; with a grunt, Jack shoved the staff upwards, and sparks shot from the staff, forming a single, ominous word:

Pitch.

The Guardians were pacing, all of them, even Tooth, who was so aghast, her wings would have fluttered so hard she would have lost control if she tried flying. Only Jack sat unmoving, head rested against the great globe that showed the flickering lights of hope, watching silently.

"Okay, I know this little girl is really powerful and all and she can match even Jack's power-"

"No she can't. She's strong but not as strong as me." Jack interrupted the Easter Bunny, but he spoke listlessly, his heart not in the boast.

Bunnymund rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. I know this little girl is powerful and all although she can't match Jack's power, but why do we care so much that Pitch took her?"

"Because of why Pitch took her." North replied, his tone grim. "It is obvious. In the previous war Jack's powers matched Pitch; he fought Pitch off, and it was largely because of him that we won. Now a girl appears, with the same powers as Pitch - okay, yes, Jack, a little weaker than yours - and Pitch sets his sights on her. It is clear his intentions - he wishes to match Jack's powers with her. And we all know, that every time Pitch returns, he is stronger than ever. We're stronger too - but are we really strong enough to beat him? Especially with someone else by his side?" North's eyes met Sandy's, and the small golden man lowered his gaze, shoulders lifting and falling.

"So what are we going to do, then?" Jack demanded. "Just...just leave it? Just fight Elsa and pretend she's not just an innocent who's being manipulated by Pitch? That's insane, we can't just do that-"

"And we won't." Tooth interrupted, eyes darting left and right, looking from one Guardian to the other. "Right?"

Bunnymund looked dubious, but subsided as Jack leapt to his feet, gaze fiercer than the other Guardians had ever seen before. North nodded, but his expression was grim. "Jack has a point - the girl is innocent. And she sees Jack - it means she believes in him. We are the Guardians, we have a job, a responsibility to guard. And we will protect this girl - Elsa - just as we have protected others."

"Easily said, but not necessarily easily done." Bunnymund pointed out. "We know for sure now that Pitch is back, and that he definitely hasn't given up on defeating us - like he ever would - but we don't know anything else, do we? We don't know how to get to his realm, we don't know if he even is at his realm, we have nothing. How are we supposed to save the girl when we can't even find Pitch?"

Jack slumped back again; that had already occurred to him, and from the depressed expressions of the other Guardians, he could see that they didn't have any ingenious ideas either.

Suddenly, North's eyes gained a crafty look, and he exchanged a look with Sandy; the golden man raised his eyebrows, a small question mark forming above his head.

Bunnymund shook his head. "Oh no, I think I recognize that look; what now, North?"

North smiled, a sly smile that seemed out of place on his honest, friendly face. "I have an idea."

* * *

"Does it make you uncomfortable, my dear?"

Elsa whirled around, startled by the now-familiar sound of her compatriot's silky, measured tones. "It's just a little dark for my liking, although I've never actually enjoyed the sun very much. It's a little gloomy, don't you think?"

Pitch looked upwards; with a click of his fingers, the shadowy darkness of his realm seemed to dim by a fraction, light not exactly shining, but reflected against certain panes of his palace. "I confess, I prefer the dark, but you are not wrong in pointing out the gloominess of my realm. I hope this suits you better?"

Elsa inclined her head a fraction, her bearing still that of a queen despite her rather dishevelled clothing. "I still don't really know anything about you, Pitch. Or that white-haired boy, Jack Frost. What is going on? Why did you bring me here? Why me?"

Pitch waved his hand and the shadows seemed to rise up at their feet; Elsa fought back a flinch at the dark shapes, then relaxed, as the shadows seemed to flatten into the shapes of two thrones ahead of them, solidifying into reality. "Take a seat, then, Elsa. This will take a while."

Elsa hesitated for a moment; she had taken Pitch's hand back in her palace, but she still wasn't sure if she could trust him completely. But Pitch smiled, tilting his head to one side as he waited, acknowledging her uncertainty about him but not bothered by it. "I'm not planning anything against you, Elsa. I'm not like the others. I understand what it feels like to be different, to have the world stand against you. I'm just trying to help you."

Elsa paused for a moment longer, then shrugged, following Pitch towards where the thrones stood; she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to beat Pitch - he did, after all, manage to teleport her from one place to another without any effort at all, something she didn't even know was possible - but she was confident of holding her own, at least long enough for her to escape.

"My name is Pitch, children know me as Pitch Black."

"From the fairytales. You're the ruler of fear." Elsa remembered abruptly, the crawling sensation suddenly shooting up her skin already. Had she just chosen to follow fear?

Pitch almost seemed to read her thoughts, and he smiled again, not frightening at all - instead, he seemed warm, almost friendly. "Most people look at me that way every time I tell them that. But not everything is black and white; and besides, everyone knows that its the victor who tells the tales."

Elsa waited, sensing that there was something Pitch wanted to say, and he wanted it badly, almost as if it had been a story he'd kept within him so long, it would've hurt if he didn't let it out.

After a moment, Pitch took a deep breath, and began.

"It's true I engaged the Guardians in a war; it's true that I've engaged them in this war, over and over again. And it's not always been me losing, either - I've won before, not often, but sometimes. Those are the periods you now know as the Dark Ages; the Guardians named it that, as I'm sure it's no surprise to you. And so it was that, ever since they won the war millennium ago, they painted me a villain, named the Dark Ages in an attempt to turn me into a tyrant and monster who ruled with terror, and made me hated throughout the world." Pitch locked his fingers together, his expression coldly bitter, filled with loathing and upset. "Is it such a wonder that I hate them?"

"So what you're saying is that those fairytales we used to hear as a child, they aren't as black and white as they always seemed? That the only reason you've been painted as such a villain is because the Guardians wanted to turn the world against you?" Elsa summed up, looking a little uncertain; ever since she'd been a child she'd heard the stories of Pitch Black, the monster who preyed on fear and terror and wanted to turn the world into a place just like him, without hope and happiness, while the Guardians, so named because they protected the world, were the good ones, the ones who'd saved the world from Pitch's reign during the terrible times of the Dark Ages - which, according to the old stories, really were as dark as Pitch's own heart. But now what Pitch was saying, that he wasn't a monster and tyrant, that he'd only appeared to be as such because of the manipulations of the Guardians...Elsa simply didn't know who to believe. On one hand, Pitch's villainy was practically an established fact, something that quite literally everyone knew, and yet on the other hand, there was no black and white in this world - Elsa, of all people, knew that. Hadn't the townsfolk been terrified of her, thought she was a monstrous Snow Queen who used witchcraft and devil magic, even though all she'd been was a terrified little girl?

Was that what had happened to Pitch?

Elsa felt her sympathy for the shadowed figure grow; laying a hand on the arm of Pitch's throne, she spoke, "And now? Given that Guardian, Jack Frost's reaction to you I'm guessing they're not too pleased that you've turned up again."

Pitch snorted. "Naturally not. But they won't get rid of me that easily, not this time."

Elsa hesitated. "You intend to engage them in war again? Haven't you had enough of fighting with the Guardians?"

Pitch's eyes flashed sharply, suddenly, and Elsa had to fight the urge to jerk back, startled. "Don't you understand what it means for me to defeat the Guardians? It means I can reclaim my throne at the top of the world, it means I can correct all those lies and falsehoods they told about me, it means I don't have to be hated and feared by the world anymore. You of all people should know how terrible it is, to be loathed by all, to have no one to trust. All I want is for that to change. Wouldn't you want that too, if you were in my place?" Pitch asked softly, his voice entreating.

There was a moment of silence as everything Pitch had told her thus far flashed through Elsa's mind; within moments, she had understood it all. "That's why you came for me, isn't it? You want me to help you fight this war, because I have powers, powers that can rival Jack Frost's."

Pitch straightened up. "I won't deny that that was a consideration. But it's more than that, Elsa. You're...you're special. Unique. You have powers most humans would never even dream of having, but more than anything else, you understand what it's like to be me. You and I, we're the same, Elsa. So powerful that instead of being revered, we are detested and held up as terrors to be feared. I chose you because you, of all people, would not judge me and hate me like the rest of the world does." Pitch held his hand out, and the shadows leapt into it, separating into darker and lighter shadows, writhing into the vaguest forms of shapes. It took Elsa scarcely more than a moment to recognize, and she flinched back at the sight that haunted her deepest nightmares, the night of her coronation when she had so utterly lost control of her powers, she'd terrified everyone, including the townsfolk and the sisters, leading to that death hunt against her.

"If we win this war, we won't have to hide in our shadows and fear our powers anymore, Elsa. Don't you see what it would do for us, how different our lives could be?" Pitch whirled out of his throne, standing right before Elsa, obsidian-dark eyes softer and more pleading than Elsa could have ever imagined. "Help me, Elsa, and we will be able to exist in a world that would love and respect, not abhor us. Help me do this, and I promise you, everything you've ever wanted, to be loved and trusted, will come true. We would achieve it together! What more could you want, Elsa? I won't betray you or hurt you, the way your townsfolk, or even your sister did. I'm your equal in every way, so please, help me, Elsa."

Elsa's eyes darted left and right, searching deep into Pitch's eyes; she liked to think that she was a good judge of character - she'd guessed that there was something a little off about Hans' entire demeanour, and she'd eventually been proven right when he tried to betray Anna - but now, now she could see nothing but earnestness in Pitch's eyes. Was he really telling the truth?

"You warned me about Anna's betrayal. You tried to make sure I wasn't hurt by her." Elsa murmured, voice soft.

"Yes, I did. I recognized in that red-haired girl a certain jealousy, a certain cowardice that made me fear her intentions. I just wanted to protect you, Elsa." Pitch replied calmly, holding his hand out to her. "So will you return the favour? Will you join me in my conquest against the Guardians?"

Elsa's breathing was measured and calm, her face expressionless as she studied Pitch's face. Then she held out her hand, taking Pitch's with a cool confidence. "So be it."

* * *

Jack shot into the air, whirling around to face the rest of the Guardians; his expression twisted in rage. "You refuse to help me save Elsa, fine. But don't stop me from doing what you should do!"

North's sword flashed as he pointed it at Jack. "Don't be a fool, Jack! You can't beat Pitch, not on your own! You'd just be risking yourself unnecessarily!"

Jack practically had steam coming out of his ears. "Unnecessarily? You dare to claim that saving an innocent is a job that is "unnecessary"? I thought better of you, North, all of you! And you call yourselves Guardians!"

Bunnymund balanced on the edge of North's reindeer-pulled carriage, his boomerang in one hand, impatient and frustrated. "We're just doing what has to be done, Frost! We can't risk ourselves just to save one girl, not when Pitch is gunning for all of us, not when the whole world is relying on us to save them from Pitch! So before we're forced to restrain you, just get your head straight and come back!"

Jack gave a howl of fury; his hand shot forward, his staff pointed right at Bunnymund.

All of a sudden, all the wind stopped, the snow freezing in place in the air, so still that the Guardians could see individual flakes of snow suspended in midair. Bunnymund felt a crackling running along his skin, and before he knew what had happened, wind slammed into him, snow pelting his face and fur, hurling him right off the carriage.

Tooth squealed in alarm as Bunnymund plummeted down, quickly becoming little more than a dark speck in the distance. Sandy whirled around; within seconds, the Sandman had rapidly formed a giant horse of golden dust. He leapt onto the horse and urged it forward, diving down after Bunnymund, leaving Tooth and North to face Jack.

"Jack!" North exploded. "That is enough! Bunnymund is a Guardian, your friend! We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves, not now!"

Jack sneered, his usually handsome, cheerful face abruptly filled with loathing and rage. "Friends? What friends? You're not my friends. I'm just the outsider, the newcomer who was forced onto you guys by the Man on the Moon. Don't deny it - you resent me being a Guardian, just like Bunnymund does, don't you? You resent the fact that I'm stronger than any one of you, you resent the fact that you have to rely on me to defeat Pitch. We're nothing but strangers who pretend to like each other!"

Tooth was almost in tears by this stage. "Jack, what are you talking about? Aren't we friends? Aren't you friends with Baby Tooth? Please, don't do this, Jack - you don't know what you're talking about."

Jack's breathing was heavy, his gaze hard. "Unfortunately I do; I know that if you were really my friends then you'd help me, regardless of the risk. But no - you Guardians are cowards, making excuses to avoid fighting Pitch just so you won't lose to him. You don't deserve to be my friends, and you don't deserve to be Guardians!"

All of a sudden, the light shifted around them; Jack, North and Tooth all froze, instantly recognizing the effect. The light seemed to bend away, shadows rising and growing into a dark, almost-tangible door. Before any of them could say anything, a man cloaked in dark stepped through, his expression arrogant as always. "For once, Jack Frost, you've said something I agree with."

North's eyes widened in shock. "Pitch!"

Pitch smiled, an evil, cold smile; he raised his hands, and out of the blue the shadows were crowding around them, blocking them off from Sandy and Bunnymund. North growled low, lifting his sword warily. "Pitch. It's been a while."

Pitch sneered at North. "Normally, I wouldn't mind engaging in inane conversation with you, old man, given the amusement that you provide but I'm afraid I've got more important things to attend to today." Without waiting for North to acknowledge his words, Pitch turned to face Jack. "It's good to see you again, Jack."

Jack's eyes narrowed. For a moment, North thought he would respond with the same antagonism that Jack always had when Pitch was mentioned. But then Jack straightened out, his staff angled loosely at his side, the crooked smile usually directed towards the Guardians on his face. "It's good to see you too, Pitch.

* * *

**Here's the next chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it! **

**Anyway, now's when the story really begins; the previous few chapters were more of a setting-up, but with the return of Pitch and Elsa joining him, now we can start really getting into the story. **

**I've always found Pitch in the movie to be a bit of a one-sided character, and I've always thought that he's someone who's worth exploring. Pitch's character will still be a main villain, but he'll also be largely expanded upon, in that he's not _merely _a villain. As in this chapter, he'll also be a sort of companion for Elsa, someone whom she can actually connect with (yes, I know that probably makes some of your skins crawl but it's all part of the story!). **

**One other thing I really enjoyed about this chapter was Jack's concern for Elsa and his desire to save her. Jack may only have known Elsa for a short while, and not very well, but they've definitely formed a certain bond; Jack sees Elsa and being a little like himself (misunderstood, with similar powers even) and he's sort of taken it upon himself to protect and save her. Elsa, on the other hand, just sees him as another Guardian, even an enemy since she's now standing with Pitch.**

**In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please remember to review and follow if you liked it!**


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